Perry offers Ebola advice to New York officials

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (left) and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo address the state’s first case of Ebola. (John Minchillo/AP).

AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry is trying to make sure New York does not make the same mistakes as Texas in dealing with its first confirmed case of Ebola.

Perry’s office said he has called New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to share the initial findings of his infectious disease task force and urge them to ensure that proper protocols are followed by hospitals and those monitoring potential contacts.

Of course, Texas struggled in both of those areas after a 42-year-old Liberian man showed up at a Dallas hospital last month. A undetermined “breach in protocol” led two nurses to contract the deadly disease from the man before he died, sparking a panic. Both nurses were declared free of the virus this week, and one of them, Nina Pham, met with President Barack Obama on Friday.

Like in Texas, New York’s case is a man who recently came to the United States from West Africa. Unlike in Texas, it is an American doctor who was there to treat Ebola patients.

When news of the case broke Thursday night, New York officials went out of their way to say they were more prepared than Texas had been.

“We are as ready as one could be for this circumstance,” Cuomo said in a news conference. “What happened in Dallas was actually the exact opposite.”

He added, “We had the advantage of learning from the Dallas experience.”

Perry shared some more lessons in separate Friday phone conversations with the officials, including regarding “the importance of informing the public about the realities of the Ebola virus in order to reduce misconceptions about its transmissions,” his office said.

The governor also provided information about the potential for rapid drug manufacturing at the Texas A&M Center for Innovation in Advanced Development and Manufacturing, and pledged to help however he could.